10 Words
by Mahayana
Summary: Kiryu Kyosuke fell asleep in his jail cell and never woke up. Nine drabbles about Kiryu and how he became a Dark Signer. Gen. Slight Kiryu/Yusei.
1. Chapter 1

**10 Words**

by Mahayana

**#5 - Fallen:** Kiryu Kyosuke fell asleep in his jail cell and never woke up. The cause of death, unknown. The mortician signed the death certificate without an autopsy. He died in prison as he lived in prison, they said. He was never alive to begin with. Nobody on Satellite was alive. Neo Domino City was a haze of glittering lights across the sea, and Satellite was its underworld. Boatloads of dead arrived every day, scheduled for prison beatings. Even more roamed the streets, unmarked until they broke into government warehouses, looking for food and cigarettes and card games. Anything to stave off the hunger. Anything to stave off the boredom.

Kiryu Kyosuke tried to set the world on fire trying to make it stop. And now he opens his eyes, and everything is dark. He is cold, and he can't feel his fingers. But there is a man hovering over him, his face smudged with dirt, and a crow bar in his hand.

"They were going to incinerate you tomorrow. Let's go before they notice you're not dead anymore."

Kiryu doesn't understand that, but he takes the man's hand anyway, unfolds from the black body bag like a moth emerging from his cocoon. Nothing feels real. He thinks he's still dreaming. The man has black eyes. Black all the way through. Kiryu feels at his side, but his cards are still missing.

"Don't worry. We will find you a new deck."

That's good, Kiryu thinks. That's good. That's the only thing that matters now.

**#6 - Candles:** There is no electricity in the Dark Signer's lair. It is a dark, dusty tomb illuminated only by candles. Kiryu thinks it's fitting, considering they are all dead. He spends his time burning cockroaches and centipedes. There is no end to them here. He doesn't touch the spiders. He knows better. But he burns the others, even the moths, and he dreams of Yusei's eyes as the flames flicker and curl the insects into ash.

_Author's Notes:_

I not-so-subtly yoinked these prompts from someone else's prompts list, who claimed they came from the _10iloveyou_ community on Livejournal, as the "Mystic" set.

Oh crap, "10iloveyou"? Was I supposed to write romance? Whoops.

Prompts in no particular order, because I am not organized like that.


	2. Chapter 2

**10 Words Part II**

by Mahayana

**#7 - Magical:** The first time Kiryu sees Yusei his breath catches. It has been months since his death. He hasn't seen Yusei since he got sentenced. But now… His throat burns. He wants to scream, he wants to laugh. He wants to gun it down the hill like a lunatic and catch Yusei in a bear hug. Wants to punch Yusei's face in until it bleeds and turns to hamburger. He doesn't know how to deal with these feelings, but he knows one thing. The only thing. —Rudger stops him, a firm hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"It's not time yet."

Kiryu's cards burn at his side. His new deck is beautiful. Black and sharp and toxic. He wants to play. He wants to play so bad. Wants to pit his strength against Yusei's, wants to chase him down the winding corridors of his God's glyph. Wants it so bad, he nearly chokes on it. Grips the handlebars of his own d-wheel, breathes deep. The stench of dust and garbage calms him slightly. Yusei still hasn't noticed them. He's talking to Crow, both their backs turned. Kiryu licks his lips.

"When the time comes, I want to fight him. He's mine."

Rudger smiles. "Of course," he says.

**#8 - Dance:** Their motorcycles chase each other like wildcats. Tigers caught in a cage fight. Except that Yusei isn't' fighting, he's running. Yusei is running, and it makes Kiryu want to chase him even harder. Makes his blood boil and seethe in his veins. He hasn't felt this alive since his final clash with Security. Just him and Yusei and their lives hanging by a spider's thread. This is what he wants, he tells himself. This pain, this agony, this sheer exuberance of pursuit and betrayal. He looks behind him at Yusei's pinched face, so serious behind his visor. Always so serious. Kiryu wants to do nothing but laugh. He can't help it. He's so fuckin' happy.

"COME ON YUSEI! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!" he screams, and plays the final card in his hand.

_Author's Notes:_

I love Kiryu. Not necessarily FOR Kiryu, but for the way he relates to Yusei and Satellite, and generally for what he stands for in 5D's. He's everything that's broken about Satellite. (The death god theme and ability to make Yusei cry by dying also helps. *THUMBS UP KIRYU*) This was my original OTP while watching 5D's, before Bruno showed up and pulled the BFFForever!11 on Yusei. …Jack can come too.

I not-so-subtly yoinked these prompts from someone else's prompts list, who claimed they came from the _10iloveyou_ community on Livejournal, as the "Mystic" set.

Oh crap, "10iloveyou"? Was I supposed to write romance? Whoops.


	3. Chapter 3

**10 Words Part III**

by Mahayana

**#9 - Moon: **Kiryu's body feels heavy. His cards lie scattered like leaves beside his fallen bike. He can hear the front wheel still spinning, a futile effort. He's not getting back up. Kiryu's fingers twitch. Yusei's face takes up the entirety of his vision as he leans over him. Picks Kiryu up like nothing, careful of his wounds. Yusei swallows. Tries to say his name. Kiryu smiles remembering why he liked Yusei so damned much. The guy's so fuckin' sincere.

Yusei wedges him between the seat and the duel disc on his own d-wheel. What is the idiot thinking? To drive him to a doctor's? Kiryu laughs when Yusei says he's going to save him. That they're friends.

So fuckin' dependable. What a moron. That trait's going to get him killed. Why is he trying so hard to save a dead man? He knows what happens to a Dark Signer when he loses—

He realizes that Yusei doesn't know. Thinks the duel is a draw. Kiryu fell off his bike, after all. Last time it was Yusei, and they both came out of the duel alive… Kiryu closes his eyes. The hope on Yusei's face is too bright. So fuckin' naive… Savior Star Dragon's last attack was not salvation; it was the kiss of a guillotine.

"Yusei… Ccapac Apu inflicts damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack power," he swallows. "I receive a total of 3800 points damage." The rest of his life points. He's going to die. Yusei's grip on his arm turns painful. Kiryu can't say if it's better this way.

**#10 – Applause **_**(Your choice)**_**: **When he wakes up again Kiryu is alone. The last thing he remembers is dying in Yusei's arms. That would be the second time now. And he's still not dead. He's tired. He just wants to go back to sleep. His memories are hazy, but what he does remember is tainted with regret. He wishes a dark god would appear, devour his soul for good this time. He woke up at the exact spot he died at. Surrounded by garbage.

It is dawn, and the air is cold. He's only wearing a red t-shirt and jeans. He holds up his arm. The mark is gone. He supposes he should be happy. Though he doesn't quite know why. He's a free man now at least. Security won't be chasing a corpse. He can go anywhere he wants. Except that… he has nowhere to go. No one to go to. He closes his eyes and breathes in the asphalt dust around him. His cards—! He feels a lump in his pocket. His deck is slightly crimpled, a little bit singed, and not quite what he remembers, but still there. The relief drops like stones from his gut. Well, at least he has something.

The debris digging into his back and thighs is getting painful, so he forces himself to get up. To stand on his own two feet and walk. Walk to where… it doesn't matter, it'll come to him when he gets there. He doesn't want to think right now.

_Author's Notes:_

After I was about halfway through prompt #10, I realized that Carly didn't remember her time as a Dark Signer. Does that mean that all the Dark Signers had their memories wiped? But Kiryu's so full of angst and self-loathing, it wouldn't make sense for him not to remember. So I rewatched Crash Town, and yep. Kiryu totally started remembering the finer details of his duel against Yusei. Though how he ever ended up in Mexico(?) of all places… (Apparently he "went on a trip" and "came to in this town". Yep, that's what they called it…) Also, lol poncho.

I not-so-subtly yoinked these prompts from someone else's prompts list, who claimed they came from the _10iloveyou_ community on Livejournal, as the "Mystic" set. Oh crap, "10iloveyou"? Was I supposed to write romance? Whoops.


	4. Chapter 4

**10 Words Part IV**

by Mahayana

**#1 - Sanctuary:** When Jack and Yusei finally find him, Kiryu is standing by the docks overlooking the Daedalus Bridge. Kiryu doesn't know how he got there. He mostly remembers walking, and hiding from Security. Old habits die hard. He started hiding from groups of tough guys too, after one picked a fight with him. His lip and eye are still swollen from the brawl, and there's an olive-coloured bruise spreading over his ribs. But at least they didn't get his cards. They were the only thing worth protecting on him.

Jack and Yusei spend a good minute in silence staring at his turned back, not knowing how to approach. For his turn, he just ignores them. Keeps looking out at the ocean.

"So Jack… Yusei… What brings you here?"

"We came looking for you, Kiryu." Of course Yusei would be the first one to answer. "We want to take you back with us… to Neo Domino City."

The blank stare Kiryu gives them makes Jack's eyebrows furrow.

"And what would I do there, in Neo Domino City?"

Yusei doesn't know how to answer that, but Jack does. "Get out of this rotten garbage heap for one! Why would you want to stay here? Kiryu!" Jack sputters over his own anger. "Kiryu! Look at us! We came out here for you! Because we're your friends! You're not a Dark Signer anymore!"

Ah! That's what they were called. He had forgotten the name. His eyes flicker to his forearm. "Hmph," he breathes. "Nobody can save me. I already died twice. What else is there left for me now?"

"You can come with us and find out for yourself." Yusei's eyes are so serious when he says it. Deep blue and steady, willing him to make the right decision. Yusei has been his friend for a long time… Kiryu hesitates.

"Fine," he says and shoves his hands in his pockets, fingering the worn edges of his cards. He follows them to the helicopter without another word. A blue haired woman is waiting for them there, along with the pilot. She smiles at Jack and Yusei, but her smile falters when it rests on him, mangled face and all. He already knows there's no sanctuary for him here.

**#2 - Grace: **Living with Jack, Crow, and Yusei is like his own personal hell. It's not even them either. Crow and Yusei are doing their best to make him welcomed. Crow tells Kiryu jokes he's heard that day, and Yusei shares his plate of scrambled eggs with him. And Jack… Jack doesn't punch him in the face, which is good enough. He knows he's important to them, and… they're important to him. More important than anything. He knows that now. Which is why it bothers him when he wakes up screaming to find Yusei already standing in the doorway, blue eyes illuminated by strips of slanted moonlight. "Another nightmare?" he asks.

Kiryu can only exhale roughly and let the sweat drip onto his blankets. He doesn't even remember most of the things that happened after his death… after his first death, in the prison cell. It's all jumbled images and rusted, metallic edges. His memories as a Dark Signer are a Pandora's Box he doesn't want to open. He looks at Yusei and the sense of guilt nearly suffocates him. In prison, he hated him for so long, hated ALL of them for betraying him. And now he knows what really happened that night, when the rain soaked their clothes and Security spotlights boiled their blood in their veins. And he feels regret. He feels regret out of proportion to a simple misunderstanding, and he knows that there's more. So much more he's done that he doesn't remember. And that Yusei is still here with a goddamned glass of warm milk. Shit. He wants to cry, but Yusei's standing goddamn right there and he can't. He tilts his head down, and pretends that the few extra drops that leak from his eyes are sweat too. Yusei lets them fall without remark. Instead, he steps into the room and sits down at the foot of Kiryu's mattress. Places the glass of milk on the floor by Kiryu's side. Kiryu keeps his head down, and Yusei keeps looking at the wall, and they let Kiryu's ragged breathing pass in silence.

"What will you do now?" Yusei asks when Kiryu's breathing has evened out.

"I don't know," Kiryu says. "I don't have anywhere to go anymore." Yusei knows Kiryu's not talking about places. Once upon a time, his ambition was to take over all of Satellite through dueling. As a Dark Signer, he had purpose in destroying the Signers. Now…

"You could stay with us. Jack, Crow and I are thinking of renting a place together. Martha says she knows this one woman who…" he trails off.

"I know who Martha is, you've told me about her."

Yusei smiles. "She says she knows a woman who's looking to rent out her garage. Once Jack's lease here runs out, we can go there. Build d-wheels together. Crow heard rumors that the Word Riding Grand Prix is going to be held here next year." Kiryu doesn't look at Yusei's face, but he can hear the smile in his voice. Yusei's looking into the future, seeing all the good things that are coming about. Satellite natives are now regular citizens of Neo Domino City.

Kiryu can't stop looking back. He knows he shouldn't be looking into the Pandora's Box, but his fingers are already bloody from scratching at it. He can't be part of Yusei's future. Team Satisfaction doesn't exist anymore. Kiryu Kyosuke died long ago in a jail cell. He doesn't even know what he's doing here.

"I'm… I'm going to go on a trip," Kiryu says, and for the first time since he sat down Yusei turns to look at him.

"Are you sure? You don't have to leave."

"I'm sure. I have to go and find… my purpose."

Yusei can understand that, so he just nods in agreement. "We can set you up with some funds. Where are you thinking of going?"

"I don't know," he hadn't thought it through that far yet, outside of 'anywhere but here.' "I'll think about it."

Yusei nods and rises from the mattress. "Can you get back to sleep ok?"

Kiryu snorts, a light puff of air meant to show his disdain. "Does it matter?"

"I'll be in the living room, coding," Yusei tells him and leaves. Kiryu doesn't look at Yusei as he walks away; instead he looks at the cooling glass of milk by his bedside. In the end, he never drinks it.

_Author's Notes:_

Please don't mind the prompts not being in order. Yes, prompt #1 IS in the middle of the fic. Sorry about that.

These seem to be getting progressively longer as this goes on. Also, I feel very accomplished for actually making prompt #1 directly relevant to the drabble. Using the prompt word in the actual fic, cheesy and terrible Y/N? :D;

I always wondered what happened to Kiryu between being resurrected and showing up in Crash Town. Rua and Ruka obviously met him, and seemed to like him. But when Kiryu shows up in Crash Town, he obviously doesn't like himself very much. (Although Nico and West like him just fine…) Heh, all of Team Satisfaction seems to be good with kids. This makes me smile for some reason.

I not-so-subtly yoinked these prompts from someone else's prompts list, who claimed they came from the _10iloveyou_ community on Livejournal, as the "Mystic" set. Oh crap, "10iloveyou"? Was I supposed to write romance? Whoops.


	5. Chapter 5

**10 Words Part IV**

by Mahayana

**#3 - Innocence:** They scrounge up enough money to send Kiryu to Peru. Yusei doesn't think it's a good idea. He suggests Cuba, or Brazil, places as far away from the geoglyphs as possible. But they can't afford to fly him anywhere else. Peru is so cheap and Kiryu wants to go. The day before Jack, Crow, and Yusei move into their new garage, they see Kiryu off at the Neo Domino City airport. They clasp hands like brothers, but Yusei can tell something is off. Kiryu's not acting right. He's gotten paler, and quieter. Kiryu always had something to say, before, when they were Team Satisfaction. And even after that, as a Dark Signer, Yusei could still see traces of their old leader in him. The fire still burned bright in his eyes back then, even if it was the violet inferno of madness. But this Kiryu…

"Take care of yourself," Yusei forces Kiryu's eyes to meet his own, holds his gaze steady until he's sure Kiryu understands.

"What? You doubting my skills to kick ass here?" Kiryu jokes, because he knows Yusei won't let him go without some form of reassurance.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Yusei laughs.

"You have our contact information anyway. Keep in touch, yeah?" Crow clasps him on the shoulder, and Kiryu can't hide his wince. Crow pretends not to notice, and goes for a shoulder-punch for good measure. "Here you are, traveling the world while we're stuck working part-time jobs."

"You will do well in the WRGP," Kiryu assures him. "Go and kick those pampered Neo Domino-native's asses. They won't know what hit them."

"Hmph. Of course." Jack keeps his arms crossed. They already clasped arms, but Kiryu can't get behind the sentiment. He still feels like the broken fourth wheel on what used to be a well-oiled machine. They don't need him anymore, he can see that. He feels relieved to leave.

x x x x

Boarding the plane feels strange. He's never been outside of Neo Domino before. And now he's flying across the ocean, trying to outrun his nightmares. He wonders if he IS crazy, flying to the exact place where all his nightmares started. Maybe he can bury them there. That's what he hopes. But when the stewardess shakes him awake, telling him that his screaming is disturbing the other passengers, he knows. He's only being toyed with again. He's flying toward the Giant God like a moth to a flame thinking it has found daylight. Halfway through the flight he changes his mind. He wants to go back. Shit, he wants to go back to Satellite and bury himself in Satellite until nobody can dig him out again. He's terrified. The plastic of his arm rest creaks from the force of his grip on it. He can feel the memories looming over him. Is this what Yusei felt? When Ccapac Apu's giant, gnarled hand was plummeting towards him? He storms from his seat and locks himself in the passenger bathroom. Oh god, he's going to remember. He hyperventilates. His own face stares back at him from the small bathroom mirror. His fist shoots towards it without thinking, but the mirror doesn't break. It's fuckin' plastic. He gasps out a laugh. This situation is too ridiculous. What the fuck was the thinking going to Peru? A few minutes later he's calm enough to splash cold water on his face. He finger-combs his hair for good measure. Before he twists the door open, he takes one, last, deep breath. Okay. He can do this. He's dealt with worse in prison. He's dealt with worse growing up. Look at him here, being afraid of his own dreams like a five year old. On his way back to his seat he asks the stewardess to bring him a beer. He's gotta have something to keep him occupied.

x x x x

Oddly enough, once he lands in Peru, Kiryu's nightmares stop. He doesn't dream at all, in fact. His sleeping hours are calm and restful. No more memories surface. He spends half his time making friends with the locals, and the other half waiting for the other shoe to drop. This must be too good to be true. Crossing a border should not solve all your problems. But here he is, taking a nap at a roadside pit stop in the shade of a large rock, watching small lizards skitter across the ground. And nothing bad is happening. Kiryu feels great. The feeling makes him edgy, but a vague sense of hope still creeps in.

The old man running the gas station joins him outside with a bottle of beer and one glass, which he shares with Kiryu. They play dice, and make conversation in broken Spanish. Kiryu has to use his dictionary more than once, but he figures out that the man's offering to let him sleep in his shed for the night. The man's wife feeds him dinner, and as a return Kiryu helps the old man fix some piping in his house.

As he's lying on the dusty futon that night, counting the knots in the wood planks by his head, he wonders if he should go see the geoglyphs. He's not afraid of this country. His instincts aren't telling him to run. He looks at his forearm in the darkness of the shed and wonders. Would the geoglyphs make him remember? His memories of his time as a Dark Signer are more solid now. He remembers why he died, he remembers hating Yusei and sitting around in a dark chamber a lot. He only recalls flashes of his battles with Yusei, but the memory of Yusei's bike failing to the asphalt a split second before Ccapac Apu's giant hand crushes him makes Kiryu sick. The residual feeling of elation at the thought of Yusei's death brings bile to his throat. He can't believe that was him. He would never do such a thing to a friend. Not even to one he thought had sold him out. But reality says otherwise. Kiryu covers his eyes with the heels of his hands and tries to sort himself out. Ok. So maybe going to see the geoglyphs is a bad idea. But fuck. He needs closure. He can't leave Peru without confronting what scares him the most. He decides to go.

_**Author's Notes:**_

Why did this take so long to write? Because 5D's geography makes no bloody sense. Everyone keeps going to Peru, casually, like it's hey right over there. Let's go on our motorcycles! WHY WRITERS? WHY? I considered natural disasters that mysteriously brought the continents closer together, and underwater, deep-sea tunnels which made cross-continental travel accessible on motorized vehicles. I also considered Neo Domino City NOT being in Japan, which is most likely just not true.

Finally I settled on… "it's cheap to fly to." Ah yes, simplicity. Still doesn't solve where Crash Town is (Mexico or Texas? Texas I think?), how everybody magically speaks Japanese (oh television, you always do this to me), and how Kiryu presumably has a passport when he's legally dead and a criminal. (He sure as heck won't be flying into the US with a marker like that.)

You know what really makes you feel stupid? Spending an hour googling for world maps that show up in 5D's. ^^; I think I'm overthinking this…

I not-so-subtly yoinked these prompts from someone else's prompts list, who claimed they came from the _10iloveyou_ community on Livejournal, as the "Mystic" set. Oh crap, "10iloveyou"? Was I supposed to write romance? Whoops.


End file.
